Tips about Food & Beverage, Kids, Mousecellaneous and Travel

We took our 3-year-old son to lunch at the Garden Grill. The character interaction was fun and he really enjoyed it. One tip for those with young kids: ask to be seated in the upper tier if you want a high chair. We went without and he felt free to hop down and run to the edge of the restaurant a lot. It would have been nice to keep him in one spot. All in all, this is a good meal, lots of fun and well worth your time. The character interaction was first-rate and our son was charmed by how the restaurant rotated. We were still full well into the evening. - Jennifer Maxwell

Epcot - The new Disney and Pixar Short Film Festival in the Magic Eye Theater (in the Imagination pavilion) has a 15-minute standing pre-show that, while informative, is not very entertaining for kids. - A Reader

Epcot - The new Disney and Pixar Short Film Festival in the Magic Eye Theater (in the Imagination pavilion) has a 15-minute standing pre-show that, while informative, is not very entertaining for kids. - A Reader

For my cousin's upcoming trip, I put together a booklet of coloring pages. She can color them and then have the characters sign the colored pages. It's inexpensive and you can find coloring pages online of almost all the characters now. I also added a packet of the "Puzzlers" section from old Disney Adventures magazines. These are great boredom-busters when waiting. Dania

This is something that my kids, ages 4 and 6, love to do. Whenever we are in the car going somewhere and they start to quarrel, we start a game. I start describing a Disney character and then they have to guess it. For example, "She wears a pretty blue dress and has blonde hair" -- Cinderella. Then the person who guesses it will be the next to give the clues. This worked on the plane this year to our favorite vacation place, Walt Disney World, and also when we were waiting in line or for a show to start. The whole family (there were 13 of us) all got into guessing and trying to think of the hardest character. You will be amazed at how many the kids really know. - Wooster Plumbs

For $.79 at your local Target store you can purchase a clear plastic coupon holder in the office supply department. It's 5" x 7" in size, has a Velcro closure, and is perfect for holding your tickets, money, etc. It keeps everything from getting wet on the water rides and is easy to find in your backpack! I never go to WDW without mine! - Noreen Rachuba EDITOR'S NOTE: Magic Bands eliminate the need to carry many cards, but for those you do, this is a great suggestion.

I'm a kid myself, so trust me on this one. When you wait in those LONG, LONG lines, it's nice to have something to do, especially if you are young. I'm older, so I'm a little more patient, but if you're small, like 5, it'd be easier with something to do. Books aren't always best... a little too bulky. Coloring books and crayons? OK, but the crayons are hard to keep track of. I have an easy one: mini-pads of paper (white lined or plain) available pretty much everywhere, and a multi-colored pen. They are easy to keep around (keep them in your pocket!) and very entertaining to draw with. They are also very cheap. Now they make them with kittens and puppies on them, so it's even better. It's pretty handy around lunch, too, with waiting for your food and all. - Caitie

I brought Dawn DishWipes with us and washed out our refillable mug in our room sink every night. My mug just never felt truly clean on any of our other trips when I would just rinse it well with hot water. The wipes come in a clear plastic box and are dry, so I just put a bunch in a Ziploc bag. Dina

We just returned from a great trip at Walt Disney World. It was the first time with our 2-year-old and our second time since 1995. We highly recommend using the Baby Care Center for anyone who has little ones. We were very excited to find a cool, comfortable place to change diapers. They have padded changing tables with a disposable sheet on each table for sanitary purposes. In addition, there was a water cooler where you could refill your water bottle. They also have private nursing rooms for breastfeeding moms and a separate TV room where older kids can wait while baby is changed and fed. There is a bathroom there, too, for older kids and adults. They also have some sundries, such as diapers and formula, available for purchase. The Magic Kingdom one is located next to the First Aid area, between Casey's and the Crystal Palace. They are all on the Disney maps for each park. - The Tietjes

We had great luck booking the Illuminations Cruise over the years. We have done it several times. This year we booked the Magic Kingdom Fireworks Cruise. I think it is a little more available. We enjoyed it much more. There was a lot more "cruising" before the show and the backdrop of the castle and Magic Kingdom was fantastic. - Margaret

For those who are staying in Home Away from Home accommodations and are interested in grocery delivery, I would highly recommend a company called WeGoShop. They are a national grocery shopping and delivery company, and their Orlando location is run by a husband and wife team who are very nice people. You can email them your exact order (including product brand names, sizes and quantity), your hotel and the time you'd like your delivery, and they will be there with your groceries safely stowed in a large plastic container. They will charge you cost for the items you've bought, as well as a modest delivery charge. Their website is at www.wegoshop.com. Our groceries were just as we'd asked for them, and they even brought them to Bell Services for us as our room wasn't ready yet. - Jessica Slivak

This tip will alleviate many of the "how much longer" questions. My husband makes copies of maps of each state that we drive through for each of our children. He then tapes them all together and labels them 1-20 at the different cities and towns that we will pass. He then gives me the "master copy." Each time I call out a number of a town that we pass, everyone pulls out their map and draws a line to that number. No one has to ask how much further because they can look at their map and compare how far they've come to how far they must go. - Lisa Fisher

My 4-year-old son has a real problem with loud noises, but refused to wear ear plugs. We would put a pair in and he would pull them right back out. Before we left I contacted a store that specialized in hunting equipment and ordered a pair of the smallest child-sized headphones used at target ranges to muffle sound. They fit him perfectly and when we were in the parks, if there was even a hint of loud noises coming, we would just slip them on. My son actually went through the Haunted Mansion four times without a hitch. It was the best $17 I ever spent and I got quite a few comments of, "Oh, I wish we had thought of that." - Bonnie Schweizer

The Gooding's Store at Crossroads in Lake Buena Vista will deliver right to your resort. Your order must be at least $50 and there is a $10 delivery charge. You can order via Internet or fax before you leave home and they will guarantee delivery on the day of your arrival, usually late in the afternoon. Your order will be delivered to the concierge (or the office) of your resort. They will also deliver personalized birthday cakes! No alcohol delivery is allowed, but they do deliver perishables. To place an order: Phone: 407-827-1200; Fax: 407-827-1219; Website: http://shop.goodings.com/ - Glo from Miami

Recently, on a trip to WDW, the screw to one of the arms of my sunglasses came out. Luckily it happened in my purse so I had the screw but I didn't have a tool to screw it in with. My friends and I went through our purses trying to find something we could use (we weren't at our hotel at the time), but we came up empty-handed. Then my friend Gina came up with the idea to try one of her pressed pennies. It worked! Pressed pennies are just the right thickness for tightening eyeglass screws, and they are big enough to make it easy to turn them. Even if you don't have a pressed penny, the machines are everywhere you turn, and the cost (51 cents) is much cheaper than buying an eyeglass repair kit in a vacation destination. - Karen Zayas